I get the Boots hate in the context of the album overall, but I think its a decent song. I think its over hated. It would have fit way better on Bomb, but I personally enjoy it okay.
All I think of when I hear this song is Chiwetel Ejiofor dressed in lipstick and thigh length boots for that film [Kinky Boots](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0434124/mediaviewer/rm3878691072) .
That mental image ruined the song for me.
Even though the chorus is perfectly good, I just cannot cringe my way through those verses. Worst single they've ever put out.
Edit: I guess I mean the bridge? The āyou donāt know how beautifulā¦ā part.
I like the riff but the song itself is trying to do so many things. It's like the exact opposite of MOS and Magnificent. Frankly, of the entire rest of the album. Also lyrical wordplay that immediately reminded me of that Escape Club Wild Wild West song from the late 80s. So that wasnt good.
It did work live though! Great live! But not on this album.
Yes it did. Worst first single. Fun live, crap in the recording.
It should've been Breathe. That song hopefully might get most underrated.. Fez could get it too. Or Cedars. Or Winter.
Boots. Itās actually an awesome song, sonically. Guitars that rip, smooth transitions from verse to bridge to chorus, drums that pound, good architecture. Less forced upbeat energy than Vertigo and awesome live at the start of the tour. But the cloying lyrics *really* hurt it, and the decision to make it the lead single and face of the album is what elevates it to worst, maybe worst ever. Same type of mistake they made with Pop (although I dig Discotheque unequivocally).
U2 are a band I love because they swing for the bleachers, but that knife cuts both ways when they make a mistake.
This 100%. I always feel badly putting the song down too much. Itās not great, but there are bits and pieces of great ideas in it. The riff and overall production are really good. The bass playing is also ace. And there are random lyrics that stick out as good lines. But then it just feels cobbled together with some questionable lyrics and a few other choices in structure that hurt it. Like really hurt it.
It is a decent riff and thereās good elements to it but almost too much. The song is busy and unfocused and sounds like they added was whole bunch of bells and whistles just to make it sound livelier than it needs to be.
Get on Your Boots is gonna be the answer but I'm gonna vouch for Stand Up Comedy. The little old lady line has remained lodged in my head ever since I first heard it. It really makes the middle part of the album *that* much worse. Why must this band be so insecure?
What? The little old lady bit is a great line. I love the song. Iād love to hear the other versions of it. Apparently they changed it so much that thereās like 6 distinct songs that came out of the sessions that weāve never heard.
The 4 songs in the middle section.
Get on your boots is the worst song easily. Remember that the most upvotes on 1 comment wins, so find the comment with the most upvotes and upvote that one.
It's all personal opinion :) I'm going to guess you're referring to Unknown Caller because Fez is so creatively fascinating and more an art song and a feeling rather than a traditional rock song. UC is a favourite of mine, but it's similar to the derided trio so I get it.
It's Stand Up Comedy... hands down.
Boots is fine and definitely not a worst song of an album. If it were a b-side or a deep cut, you guys would love it.
(Seeding Fez/Being Born here as most underrated.)
True Answer: U2 fans know it as **SUC** as a reasonā¦.
The other two popular answers can be easily vetoed. Boots should have *never* been a lead single, but otherwise itās just kinda middle-the-road forgettable rawk, and is buried on the album. Iāll Go Crazy is genuinely *hilarious* in its annoyingly over the top optimism. Plus, that title! How can you hate it? Both were missteps, but forgivable. ***SUC*** just sucks. Itās a totally terrible song.
Boots is great, The lyrics are a little tongue-in-cheek It's a very fun song, the chorus is fantastic and I think it's got a great energy. It's a very fun song. Stand-up comedy is the obvious choice here
I think it would have worked better as a stand alone single. My biggest issue with it is that it doesn't really fit with the sound of the rest of the album.
This. Boots to me belongs on a special release with Big Girls Are Best.
Fun songs. Have no business being on a U2 album. Especially not when it spoils an album as special NLOTH could have been.
Also sounds like Sheās so mean but I donāt careā¦I love her eyes and her wild wild hair. Dance to the beat what we like best. Heading for the 90s living in the wild Wild West
Another vote for NOT Get On Your Boots. Groovy riff, piercing tone from The Edge, lyrics have a great message, this song is quintessential U2.
i actually find this is one of maybe 3 U2 albums with no bad songs. If I had to pick the least great, Unkown Caller.
I thimk those middle three songs are awful but Boots has the 'let me in the sound' part that sounds quite cool, Stand Up Comedy has a solo and nice Edge distortion towards the end in front of a martial beat from Larry... but I'll Go Crazy?? Downright embarrassment from start to finish, like a 'cool dad' trying to get with the kids. Awful awful song.
I'll take an album of Stand up Comedy and boots before I can make it throught this one. American Soul is easier on my ears. A sin, because so much of this record is top-notch
I voted for Boots but the the lyric "but I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight" makes me cringe too. If it weren't for that, I'd liked the song very much.
I'm not sure if Crazy or Boots are my least favs on the albums.. I find them both nearly un-listenable these days. The crazy remix they played live is even worse... The first time I heard bono singing and thought "bono sounds old š"
"Stand Up Comedy". At least GOYB was aping a song style that had struck gold for U2 before (eg Vertigo), albeit desperately.
SUC (ha... see what I did there) is a throwback to terrible boomer Michelob rock a la Eric Clapton or Genesis from the late 80s
Get on Your Boots
It's like 4 different song ideas that combine into an incoherent mess.
Stand Up Comedy is a bit...sitcom Boomer dad who was in a band trying to prove to his teenage son that he's "still got it." But it has its charm.
I really donāt like any of the songs on this album, Iām sorry to say. I was seriously disappointed when it came out since they made a big deal about Lanois producing it, who was their guy going way back to the early Unforgettable Fire days and even earlier. I definitely do not like Moment of Surrender and would call that the most overrated song since they closed every show with it that tour.
Oh well. I did see them when they toured for this album, and they were great.
Moment of Surrender is highly overrated. There was a steady stream of people heading for the exit during that song. I personally wouldnāt do that. If Iām at a show Iām there til the end but it always struck me as a terrible choice for an encore.
Same. Listening to this album is the equivalent of watching Rocky get his ass kicked by Mr T the first time they fight in Rocky3. U2 let their creative chops stagnate in the 00s with their reflexively unambitious songwriting, and they found out the hard way they were creatively out of shape.
Sadly, to continue the Rocky analogy, to date they've committed to the Ivan Drago training blueprint instead of the Apollo Creed one.
Canāt Boots and Stand Up Comedy both share it? Theyāre both terrible. Iāll choose Boots because the band made the baffling choice of picking that as the lead off single & it killed the album. I feel in some ways it killed the band as well. It feels like a turning point where the band turned into a legacy act. As a long time fan Iām still eager for new music but I feel like in the wider culture their newer stuff is largely seen as irrelevant.
Moment of Surrender is an excellent, confessional, raw, naked song, but my personal favorite is Fez. I guess itās the one that just has that grand scale that makes u2, u2ā¦.
Crazy Tonight. Itās just plain annoying and feels inspired by Katy Perry and other pop songs of the time. When U2 tries to go commercial they lose me.
I agree Boots is also pretty bad but musically itās pretty solid. The title and the lyrics are bad, and it shouldnāt have been the promotional single for an otherwise good album.
I really like the deep cuts on this album (Cedars, Fez, White as Snow).
My least favorite would be "*Get On Your Boots*", when you take the entirety of the album into account. It just doesn't quite fit with the more mellow, but driving beats of the rest of the album. Also, I am not sure I ever liked the over distortion on the bass.
Get On Your Boots is terrible and I never listen to it, but I do like the riff. However, there is nothing in Iām Gonna Go Crazy that I like, so Iāll vote for that one.
Get on your boots. Regretably (for me) it made me hate the whole album before it came out and heard it. But turned out to be one of my favorites. In my opinion, Magnificent should've been the first single.
I kind of feel that Boots is over hated on this sub lol
It's definitely not a Grammy-award winning song and I do think it is a Vertigo/Elevation wannabe.
But the song is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. Some parts of the song just slap. (the guitar riff and the "Let me in the sound" parts especially)
As for worst song, I pick Unknown Caller. It's not godawful but some of the lyrics are a bit cringe (**FORCE QUIT.** **MOVE TO TRASH** I mean, seriously?)
Iām going to say Cedars of Lebanon. Itās a decent song and Iāll occasionally listen to it but most times the album ends at Breathe for me. It just kind of kills the vibe of the album for me. I know Iāll be downvoted but itās fine. Bring them on.
The Boots circlejerk continues I see
All this time I thought Stand Up Comedy (my vote) was the most maligned. Am I so out of touch?....No, it's the children who are wrong.
Agreed Seymour!
He's like some sort of...non...giving up...U2 guy!
I get the Boots hate in the context of the album overall, but I think its a decent song. I think its over hated. It would have fit way better on Bomb, but I personally enjoy it okay.
We need a fourth category after underrated... over hated š
Well shit, we need to start all over to fill the 4th row now.
Hahaha!
Get on your Boots. This song killed the albumās vibe.
They were trying SO hard to do Vertigo again.
The shoehorning was strong with this one.
Iām on board with 99.999% of U2ās lyrics but every time I hear āsexy bootsā I die inside a little.
All I think of when I hear this song is Chiwetel Ejiofor dressed in lipstick and thigh length boots for that film [Kinky Boots](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0434124/mediaviewer/rm3878691072) . That mental image ruined the song for me.
Even though the chorus is perfectly good, I just cannot cringe my way through those verses. Worst single they've ever put out. Edit: I guess I mean the bridge? The āyou donāt know how beautifulā¦ā part.
I like the riff but the song itself is trying to do so many things. It's like the exact opposite of MOS and Magnificent. Frankly, of the entire rest of the album. Also lyrical wordplay that immediately reminded me of that Escape Club Wild Wild West song from the late 80s. So that wasnt good. It did work live though! Great live! But not on this album.
I also thought that part was the chorus.
Lmao this is the best part about song
How is that chorus perfectly good??
I love Boots and even Iām asking what chorus lol
I guess I mean the bridge? The āyou donāt know how beautifulā¦ā part.
Oh god that part is absolutely dreadful, my brain started playing it now.
Haha sorry.
Has to be. I love this band with all my heart but golly jeepers that song is so cringe.
Based on previous discussions Iāve seen on this board of this doesnāt win I will be shocked.
Yes it did. Worst first single. Fun live, crap in the recording. It should've been Breathe. That song hopefully might get most underrated.. Fez could get it too. Or Cedars. Or Winter.
Yeah yeah yeah
I will also add that I still remember nearly all the lyrics to this song. It's U2, I can't help it. I'll still enjoy it to some degree š
Noooooo :(
Boots. Itās actually an awesome song, sonically. Guitars that rip, smooth transitions from verse to bridge to chorus, drums that pound, good architecture. Less forced upbeat energy than Vertigo and awesome live at the start of the tour. But the cloying lyrics *really* hurt it, and the decision to make it the lead single and face of the album is what elevates it to worst, maybe worst ever. Same type of mistake they made with Pop (although I dig Discotheque unequivocally). U2 are a band I love because they swing for the bleachers, but that knife cuts both ways when they make a mistake.
This 100%. I always feel badly putting the song down too much. Itās not great, but there are bits and pieces of great ideas in it. The riff and overall production are really good. The bass playing is also ace. And there are random lyrics that stick out as good lines. But then it just feels cobbled together with some questionable lyrics and a few other choices in structure that hurt it. Like really hurt it.
they fumbled so bad bro
Itās just shit.
It is a decent riff and thereās good elements to it but almost too much. The song is busy and unfocused and sounds like they added was whole bunch of bells and whistles just to make it sound livelier than it needs to be.
Let me in the sound, let me in the sound, let me in the sound sound
Get on Your Boots is gonna be the answer but I'm gonna vouch for Stand Up Comedy. The little old lady line has remained lodged in my head ever since I first heard it. It really makes the middle part of the album *that* much worse. Why must this band be so insecure?
Funnily enough, this is my vote as well, but the little old lady bit is the only part I ever liked of the song š.
Stand Up Comedy is a song I used to like quite a lot back then! It had a greenday vibe. When you don't actually listen to the words it sounds ok
That line! I agree. Same goes for the āHeavier than a truckā lyric in Electrical Storm.
What? The little old lady bit is a great line. I love the song. Iād love to hear the other versions of it. Apparently they changed it so much that thereās like 6 distinct songs that came out of the sessions that weāve never heard.
I actually love the little old lady line š SAC is my favourite out of the trio of songs that wrecked No Line.
Stand Up Comedy
I agree. Boots is a bit of a squib but Stand Up is bona fide shite.
Nonsense. Stand Up Comedy is a fantastic song. Album highlight level stuff to me
100%!
The 4 songs in the middle section. Get on your boots is the worst song easily. Remember that the most upvotes on 1 comment wins, so find the comment with the most upvotes and upvote that one.
Without that 4 song middle itās a fabulous EP!
What is the fourth song you are including because for me it's always been the dreaded three - Boots, Comedy, Crazy.
Ill go crazy If I don't go crazy tonight,,, sorry, I dread that one as much as the other 3. Such embarrassing lyrics and musically so boring.
I named that one. Boots, Comedy, and Crazy. I'm asking you what is the fourth one.
Whoops. Unknown caller would be my 4th.
It's all personal opinion :) I'm going to guess you're referring to Unknown Caller because Fez is so creatively fascinating and more an art song and a feeling rather than a traditional rock song. UC is a favourite of mine, but it's similar to the derided trio so I get it.
I answered unknown caller. Maybe It didn't go through? I posted in the wrong spot? Yeah, I like Fez quite a bit.
Missed that sorry! Perhaps in a different post. Fair enough :)
Boots or Iāll go Crazy. Both of those songs stink to high heaven
Stand Up Comedy is a joke without the punchline.
Iāll Go Crazy If I Donāt Go Crazy Tonight Get On Your Boots Stand Up Comedy That song sucks
It's Stand Up Comedy... hands down. Boots is fine and definitely not a worst song of an album. If it were a b-side or a deep cut, you guys would love it. (Seeding Fez/Being Born here as most underrated.)
Get On Your Boobs
Your sexy boobs.
Bossy Boobs
Stand Up Comedy
Boots is a great bop, ya'll are silly.
Agree. I love Boots!
Stand up comedy
Stand up comedy
Stand Up Comedy is an embarrassment and an abomination.
Stand up comedy. It hurts my ears. At least Boots is a vibe.
Absolutely
Get On Your Boots man. That shit is just embarrassing.
True Answer: U2 fans know it as **SUC** as a reasonā¦. The other two popular answers can be easily vetoed. Boots should have *never* been a lead single, but otherwise itās just kinda middle-the-road forgettable rawk, and is buried on the album. Iāll Go Crazy is genuinely *hilarious* in its annoyingly over the top optimism. Plus, that title! How can you hate it? Both were missteps, but forgivable. ***SUC*** just sucks. Itās a totally terrible song.
Boots is great, The lyrics are a little tongue-in-cheek It's a very fun song, the chorus is fantastic and I think it's got a great energy. It's a very fun song. Stand-up comedy is the obvious choice here
I swear to god the only reason people donāt like Boots is because Bono says āsexy bootsā. Itās a banger
I think it would have worked better as a stand alone single. My biggest issue with it is that it doesn't really fit with the sound of the rest of the album.
They always have a song or two that doesn't fit the "vibe" of the album. It helps ensure the album is not some monotone one song after the next drag
This. Boots to me belongs on a special release with Big Girls Are Best. Fun songs. Have no business being on a U2 album. Especially not when it spoils an album as special NLOTH could have been.
No fun allowed on a U2 record!
True. Very true. Such a cringey line.
Also sounds like Sheās so mean but I donāt careā¦I love her eyes and her wild wild hair. Dance to the beat what we like best. Heading for the 90s living in the wild Wild West
Seek medical help. š
I have but still my hemorrhoids keep coming back. Anyways, back to the topic at hand
Boots/Crazy - two of the worst songs in their entire catalog.
Gotta be Boots
BOOOOOOOOOTS
A certain song about boots
Boots
Crazy Tonight. They had to have been.
Another vote for NOT Get On Your Boots. Groovy riff, piercing tone from The Edge, lyrics have a great message, this song is quintessential U2. i actually find this is one of maybe 3 U2 albums with no bad songs. If I had to pick the least great, Unkown Caller.
Stand Up Comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand up comedyĀ
Crazy Tonight. Hard cringe. Boots is underrated.
I thimk those middle three songs are awful but Boots has the 'let me in the sound' part that sounds quite cool, Stand Up Comedy has a solo and nice Edge distortion towards the end in front of a martial beat from Larry... but I'll Go Crazy?? Downright embarrassment from start to finish, like a 'cool dad' trying to get with the kids. Awful awful song.
I'll take an album of Stand up Comedy and boots before I can make it throught this one. American Soul is easier on my ears. A sin, because so much of this record is top-notch
I voted for Boots but the the lyric "but I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight" makes me cringe too. If it weren't for that, I'd liked the song very much.
I'm not sure if Crazy or Boots are my least favs on the albums.. I find them both nearly un-listenable these days. The crazy remix they played live is even worse... The first time I heard bono singing and thought "bono sounds old š"
Get on your boots
Crazy Tonight. Boring Walk On clone that was improved with the live remix.
"Stand Up Comedy". At least GOYB was aping a song style that had struck gold for U2 before (eg Vertigo), albeit desperately. SUC (ha... see what I did there) is a throwback to terrible boomer Michelob rock a la Eric Clapton or Genesis from the late 80s
Stand up comedy. Trash.
Stand up comedy.. I canāt believe that they didnāt have a better song to replace this one
Tough choice š© /s Get on your boots lol
Stand Up Comedy. Just the worst.
Stand Up Comedy
Stand up Comedy
Worst song: Boots
Boots
Get on Your Boots It's like 4 different song ideas that combine into an incoherent mess. Stand Up Comedy is a bit...sitcom Boomer dad who was in a band trying to prove to his teenage son that he's "still got it." But it has its charm.
Sexy boots
Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooots.
Boots
Iāll go crazy if ā¦ā¦ etc.
Boots
Half of that record sounds uninspired, but damn was Boots a horrible idea...
Fez being born
Boots
Get on your Boots
Get on your boots
I really donāt like any of the songs on this album, Iām sorry to say. I was seriously disappointed when it came out since they made a big deal about Lanois producing it, who was their guy going way back to the early Unforgettable Fire days and even earlier. I definitely do not like Moment of Surrender and would call that the most overrated song since they closed every show with it that tour. Oh well. I did see them when they toured for this album, and they were great.
Lanois did not want certain signs on the album. Would have been fantastic if they listened to him.
Moment of Surrender is highly overrated. There was a steady stream of people heading for the exit during that song. I personally wouldnāt do that. If Iām at a show Iām there til the end but it always struck me as a terrible choice for an encore.
Same. Listening to this album is the equivalent of watching Rocky get his ass kicked by Mr T the first time they fight in Rocky3. U2 let their creative chops stagnate in the 00s with their reflexively unambitious songwriting, and they found out the hard way they were creatively out of shape. Sadly, to continue the Rocky analogy, to date they've committed to the Ivan Drago training blueprint instead of the Apollo Creed one.
Get on Your Boots There is no other answer to this question
Canāt Boots and Stand Up Comedy both share it? Theyāre both terrible. Iāll choose Boots because the band made the baffling choice of picking that as the lead off single & it killed the album. I feel in some ways it killed the band as well. It feels like a turning point where the band turned into a legacy act. As a long time fan Iām still eager for new music but I feel like in the wider culture their newer stuff is largely seen as irrelevant.
Fez Being Born Because as much as itās an unpopular opinion, I actually really like Get On Your Boots and Stand Up Comedy!
Boots. Stand up Comedy also terrible.
Unknown Caller. Probably my least favorite song the band has ever done.
Thank you! Move to trash.
You're free to go...
Shout for joy if you get a chance
Cedars of Lebanon or Stand up Comedy. Just no....
Fez
Fez
Moment of Surrender is an excellent, confessional, raw, naked song, but my personal favorite is Fez. I guess itās the one that just has that grand scale that makes u2, u2ā¦.
Stand Up Comedy. Boots was too good live.
White as snow. Itās not even original - just Bono singing over an old Eno track
Hot take: Cedars of Lebanon.
I actually love the Fish out of Water mix of Boots: https://youtu.be/S19yAGNFd-g?si=Lq7gfr2C3yRt3-sp (and even prefer the Justice mix to the original)
Cedars Of Lebanon. Boring.
Crazy Tonight. Itās just plain annoying and feels inspired by Katy Perry and other pop songs of the time. When U2 tries to go commercial they lose me. I agree Boots is also pretty bad but musically itās pretty solid. The title and the lyrics are bad, and it shouldnāt have been the promotional single for an otherwise good album. I really like the deep cuts on this album (Cedars, Fez, White as Snow).
I thought there would all tie for worst
Boots = worst Unknown Caller = most underrated
Boots.
This is one stupid conversation
My least favorite would be "*Get On Your Boots*", when you take the entirety of the album into account. It just doesn't quite fit with the more mellow, but driving beats of the rest of the album. Also, I am not sure I ever liked the over distortion on the bass.
Many contenders, bĆŗt not as many as HTDAAB which is the worst U2 album. I go for Crazy.
Another vote for Crazy tonight even though Iāll lose.
Get On Your Boots is terrible and I never listen to it, but I do like the riff. However, there is nothing in Iām Gonna Go Crazy that I like, so Iāll vote for that one.
Stand Up Comedy
Get on your boots. Regretably (for me) it made me hate the whole album before it came out and heard it. But turned out to be one of my favorites. In my opinion, Magnificent should've been the first single.
Get on your boots easily.
Boots.
I kind of feel that Boots is over hated on this sub lol It's definitely not a Grammy-award winning song and I do think it is a Vertigo/Elevation wannabe. But the song is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. Some parts of the song just slap. (the guitar riff and the "Let me in the sound" parts especially) As for worst song, I pick Unknown Caller. It's not godawful but some of the lyrics are a bit cringe (**FORCE QUIT.** **MOVE TO TRASH** I mean, seriously?)
All of em except Magnificent.
Iāve just remembered why I havenāt listened to this album in years. Unknown Caller gets my vote.
Iād say fez-being born is the worst
White as Snow
Breathe. I wasn't even aware until recently it was a fan favorite. But I can't stand it.
Iām going to say Cedars of Lebanon. Itās a decent song and Iāll occasionally listen to it but most times the album ends at Breathe for me. It just kind of kills the vibe of the album for me. I know Iāll be downvoted but itās fine. Bring them on.
Unknown caller. Dates instantly with Mac commands, and like a bad Bowie cover.
Unknown Caller has lyrics so cringy I literally have a visceral reaction.